


pick me up (reach out my hand)

by weatheredlaw



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Found Family, Kid Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-28 09:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12603416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: Magnus and Lucretia get hit with a de-aging spell. The crew of the Starblaster learns to parent.





	1. lup

**Author's Note:**

> i made a dumb text post on tumblr and now i'm here writing like four chapters worth of this.

“This _sucks_.”

From behind them, Lup heard Lucretia sigh and turn. “Magnus. I told you, if you didn't want to come, then you could have stayed on the ship.”

“With Merle and Dav?” He snorted. “I don't think so.”

“They wouldn't _do it_ in front of you. And you could have hung out with Barry.”

“They hold _hands_! It's weird!”

“You said that you were very happy for them.”

“I _am_ , I just don't want to _see it_ \--”

“ _Both of you shut up!_ ” Taako turned. “I swear to all that is holy if I have to listen to your bickering for one more second I'm going set you both on fire and I will _see you next year!_ ” The cavern they were standing in grew very quiet. Taako smiled. “Better.”

Magnus huffed. “Gonna have to catch me first.” Lup glanced over her shoulder and raised a brow. Magnus grinned at her.

They walked for a few more minutes before Taako took a right.

“Why are we even _here_?” Magnus muttered.

“Because Taako and Lucretia think there might have been people who lived here.”

“So?”

Lup sighed. _“So._ We're satisfying their curiosity, Magnus. Just try and have a good time.”

“Well it'd be more fun if we--”

“ _Found something!_ ” Taako shouted. They ran ahead to catch up with him.

Lup stepped into the stone room and looked around. “Holy shit.”

Lucretia stepped around her. “Oh _wow._ ” The room was filled to the brim with chests of strangely shaped objects and the walls were lined with heavy wooden shelves laden with thick tomes. Lucretia reached out and brushed her hands along the spines. “Taako, look--”

“I _know_ ,” he muttered, taking a book she handed him. “This is amazing. We could spend all _year_ in here.” Taako glanced around. “We shouldn't touch anything else, we gotta make sure--”

“Yo, check this _out!_ ” Magnus held up a statue. “Look at its face--”

“Magnus _don't_ \--” Lucretia turned and snatched it out of his hand. “We shouldn't touch--” She dropped the statue, and she and Magnus looked at one another.

“Uh, Lu--”

She groaned. “Son of a--”

Lup blinked. And then they were gone.

 

* * *

 

“ _This is bad, this is bad_ \--”

“Taako stop.”

“ _What are we going to do?_ ”

“Would you knock it off for two seconds?”

He grabbed her shoulders. “Did you _see_ them?”

Lup rolled her eyes. “Yes. I saw it happen. But they aren't dead, and we--”

“I'm not _worried_ about them dying.” He pointed. “I'm worried about when they wake up!”

Lup sighed and knelt down in the spot where Magnus and Lucretia had fainted.

In their place were two very small, very cute, and very exhausted children. She reached out and stroked Lucretia's forehead. “They're really sweet looking, aren't they?”

“Of course they are, they're _children_ and they're _asleep._ Sleeping kids are always cute. But when they wake up--”

Lup stood. “Maybe if we destroyed the statue. It might undo whatever this is.”

Taako nodded. “Okay. Okay, we can do that.” He found a stick and pushed the statue away from the kids. “Um...oh! Oh, okay.” Flame and acid and frost all surrounded the statue for a solid five minutes, and when Taako was done, there wasn't much left.

But they still had two sleeping kids.

“Dammit!”

Lup sighed. “We'll just take them back to the ship. Merle's probably got something he can do.”

Taako stared. “H-how are we getting them back?”

“We're carrying them.”

“I've never carried a kid.”

Lup rolled her eyes. “Are you serious right now? You are, like, the chillest motherfucker in the god damn universe, but you can't pick up a sleeping toddler?”

“I _can._ I just don't _want_ to.”

“Well it's just us, so let's go.” She leaned down and picked up Magnus, carefully resting his head on her shoulder. Taako sighed and did the same with Lucretia.

“What if Merle can't fix it?”

“Then they'll have to be kids for the year I guess. They'll turn back when the cycle's over.”

Taako sighed. “Well. They are pretty cute I guess.” He sniffed. “Wouldn't be so bad.”

“See? You're getting used to the idea.”

He grinned. “Yeah, well I'd _prefer_ they get changed back. Just so I can give Magnus shit about sucking his thumb, _immediately_.”

 

* * *

 

They laid the two of them on one of the sofas in the sitting room. Lup went to find Barry, Taako went looking for Merle.

“You're back.” Barry reached for her and kissed her cheek. “How was the exploring?”

“Um, eventful.”

He raised a brow. “What's that mean?”

“Well, um. I think you just...need to see.” She took his hand and led him out of his lab. They stopped in front of the couch and Barry...stared. “So.”

“ _What the hell happened?_ ”

“They touched a cursed object.”

“Did you bring it back?”

“Ah, no.” Lup felt her neck get hot. “We, um. Destroyed it. We thought it might undo all of--” She gestured. “ _This._ ”

“Huh.” Barry considered her. “Well, that wasn't a terrible idea, now that I think of it. Could have worked. It didn't, but it could have.”

“Should we have brought it back.”

He shrugged. “Dunno. If this is what it does it's probably better off gone. I mean, we can _deal_ with two of them. They'll change back--”

“Found him!” Taako pulled Merle in by the sleeve of his shirt. “Situation has been explained, Merle thinks--”

“ _Holy shit!_ ”

Taako and Lup rounded on him. “ _Shh!_ ”

“Sorry!” he whispered. “But, _holy shit!_ I sorta thought you were messin', but you weren't!”

“Merle?” Davenport came down the stairs. “What's happening down here? We haven't finished with the maps--” He looked between them all. “You're back! Did you spot the light while you were out?”

“Uh, no?” Taako folded his arms over his chest. “We did not.”

“There's been an incident.”

“Oh my god.” Davenport came closer. “Is everyone okay? Where's Magnus? He didn't--” Davenport stopped. “Holy shit.”

“ _That's what I said!_ ”

“ _Shh!_ ”

Davenport knelt by the couch, reaching out to tentatively poke Magnus's cheek. “Is that--”

“Yuh-huh.”

“And that's--”

“ _Yep._ ”

“Oh, wow.” He stood and turned to Merle. “Can you--”

“Well, I can give it my best shot.” Merle rolled up his sleeves and thought for a moment. “Okay, I think I know...” He closed his eyes and murmured a few choice words to himself before holding out his hands. His fingertips glowed bright white and _hot_. Lup turned away.

“Huh.”

“Nothin'?” Davenport stepped closer again.

“Yeah. Nothin'. That's _weird_. Usually greater restoration just. Does the trick.” Merle shrugged. “Guess they're kids for the year.”

Davenport shook his head. “That's not acceptable. Try it again.”

“Doesn't work like that, Dav.”

“Then we try again _later._ ” Davenport scrubbed his hands over his face. “We cannot have children on this ship. We are _fleeing_ from a monster, we haven't found the light yet, and apparently whoever lived here before left a bunch of _cursed objects lying around_.”

“Okay, _easy_ \--”

“Merle, we talked about this. I am not a horse.”

“Shh, shh, shh--”

“ _Do not shush me_ \--”

On the couch, Magnus stirred, and the room went dead quiet.

He looked up through half-open eyes, glanced around, and then went back to sleep.

Lup pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look. If it's not going to work, it's not going to work. We're just going to have to take care of them, okay? This is just like that year that Taako got turned into a werewolf--”

“That was such a good year,” he muttered.

“We'll adjust. We'll get through it. And we'll all be fine.”

 

* * *

 

“ _Mama!_ ”

“Oh my god, what is that noise?” Taako nearly dumped the bag of rice he was filling all over the floor. “What the _hell_ is that noise?”

“ _Mama!_ ”

Lup stood from the table. “I think someone's awake.”

“What, the _banshee_ we also carried in here?”

Lup sighed and went into the living room. Lucretia was sitting up on the couch, looking around, panicked. “ _Mama, mama, where's_ \--”

“Hey, Lucretia, honey, it's okay.” Lup knelt down and took her little hands in her own. “It's alright, sweetie. Don't be scared.”

“Where's my mama, where's my _mama—_ ”

“Lucretia, hon, don't you remember? Do you remember me?”

Lucretia stared at her. “...Lup.”

“Yes! Yes, it's Lup.”

Lucretia turned and pointed. “Mags.”

“Yes, that's Magnus.”

She pointed to herself. “'Cretia.”

“Yep, that's you!”

Lucretia stared. Then: “ _Mama!_ ”

“Oh, oh, honey, you gotta stop that, you're gonna--”

Magnus sat straight up. He looked between the two of them, looked around the room, and let out a blood-curdling scream.

Davenport ran into the room. “ _What the hell is happening?_ ”

Magnus screamed again.

 

* * *

 

It took twenty minutes to calm them down, and another twenty to sort out what they knew. They both recognized everyone, for the most part, but whatever they'd been doing before the spell hit them seemed a little dark. Lucretia asked for mama a lot, and Magnus...mostly hid under the kitchen table. If anyone looked at him, he popped his thumb straight into his mouth and whimpered.

It was the least Magnus thing Lup could imagine him doing, but considering he was probably two, she couldn't blame him.

And besides, she got a little nervous anytime she saw Barry with needles, too.

“Aw, crap.” He came back after putting them away. “Sorry, I didn't meet to freak him out. Should have known,” he added. “Big Magnus is afraid of needles, too.” He leaned down. “It's okay, buddy. I put 'em away.”

Magnus shook his head.

Lup sighed and reached down to pull him out and into her lap. “It's okay, honey. You hungry?” Magnus considered this, then nodded, pulling his thumb out of his mouth.

“Want cake.”

“Strange alien bear meat,” Taako said. “We're having strange alien bear meat.”

Lucretia shook her head. “Cake.”

“Alien meat _._ ”

She looked right at Taako. “ _Cake._ ”

Taako knelt down and looked right into her eyes. “ _Alien meat_ , you little twerp. Now sit down or I won't let you eat peanut butter out of the jar.”

“You let her eat peanut butter out of the jar?” Barry asked.

Taako shrugged. “She needed a snack.” He turned back to the stove. “Hey, how old do you think they are?”

“Did you ask them?” Merle asked as he and Davenport came into the kitchen. “They might know.” He turned to Lucretia. “Hey, how old are you?”

“How old are you?”

“I asked _you_ first.”

She shrugged. “I asked _you_.”

Merle chuckled. “Cute kid.” He looked up at them. “We're gonna have to count their teeth.”

Davenport groaned. “ _You can't do that with humans_ \--”

“Sure you can. Kids have a certain number of teeth, and they grow at a certain rate. We'll take their measurements, do some tests, and we can figure out how old they are. Also we should make sure they're not, like, _dying._ ”

Barry pointed. “That's a really good idea. Nice one, Merle.”

“Hey.” He winked. “I'm not just a pretty face.”

 

* * *

 

When Magnus fell asleep right at the table and Lucretia went not too long after him, Lup figured it was time for them to go to bed. She and Barry picked them up. “Where should they sleep?” he asked as they headed out of the kitchen.

“With us?”

Barry shrugged. “Seems okay. For tonight, at least.” They headed toward their room and settled the kids on the end of the bed. Barry grabbed an extra blanket and covered them up. “I think they'll be okay.”

“Yeah.” Lup put an arm around his waist. “Maybe it'll wear off?”

Barry shrugged. “I dunno. I'd kinda like to do this for a year.”

“Magnus tried to bite you.”

“Yeah, you know, I don't think he trusts me right now?”

Lup laughed, leaning her head against his chest. “Well. You might just have a year to work it out, babe. Wanna be a cool uncle?”

“I've never been cool a day in my life,” he said.

“Oh, honey. Do it for the kids.”

Barry chuckled and kissed her temple. “Alright,” he said. “For the kids.”

Lup smiled and looked at the two of them sleeping soundly in their little nest of blankets.

Yeah, she could handle a year of this.

 


	2. barry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter made me miss my kids 
> 
> (for ur reference i taught preschool so i had 20 kids)

Magnus wouldn't go anywhere near him. Barry was trying not to take it personally.

“Literally every time he sees you you're carrying needles, hon.” Lup braided the last few inches of her hair. “I think you're gonna have to try a different tactic.”

“Merle and I are running their tests today, and I can't _catch_ him! And then, if he runs, _she_ runs. It's like a torture device invented by preschoolers.”

“Sounds about right.” Lup went to him and kissed his cheek. “Don't stress it. Taako can catch them, he's gotten good at that.”

“You know, I'm sure there's a law on _some plane_ against casting _hold person_ on a child.”

“Works, doesn't it?”

Barry sighed. “Yeah, guess it does.”

 

* * *

 

“Okay kiddo!” Merle hefted Magnus up and set him on the table. “Open up and let me see those chompers.”

Magnus folded his arms over his chest. “I don't want to.”

“Aw, come on. Please?” Merle tipped his head to the side. “Just for a second, I'll be done _real_ quick.”

Magnus stared. “ _No._ ”

Merle glanced over at Barry. “Is it because he's here?” Magnus shook his head. “Is it...because you're a monster? And you think I'll be afraid of your big scary teeth?”

Magnus considered this. “Yeah,” he said. “I'm a monster.”

“Well guess _what_ , Monster Magnus. I'm not scared of you. In _fact._ ” He leaned in close. “I _bet_ I can get you to laugh.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Yuh-huh.”

“ _Nuh-uh_.”

“Oh yeah?” Merle stepped away, then rushed back in, ticking up Magnus's sides. “ _Gotcha!_ ”

Magnus _shrieked_ with laughter, and as soon as his mouth was open, Barry saw Merle look in and do a quick count.

“Show me those chompers, Monster Magnus!” Magnus roared, Merle took a few measurements, and then took him off the table. Magnus immediately bolted. “Nice goin', kiddo!” Merle turned to Barry. “He's three.”

“And Lucretia?”

“Four. How're the blood tests going?”

Barry sighed. “Fine. Doesn't look like anything's wrong with them. They're just...kids now.” He shrugged. “Can't really explain much about it. No protein structure changes, no obvious DNA alterations. They're just...little.”

“Well, at least they didn't get changed into a swarm of bees or somethin'. Kids I can handle.”

Barry laughed. “You know, you're really good with them, Merle.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. You ever thought about having any?”

Merle chuckled. “Nah,” he said. “I think the universe is unlucky enough just dealing with _me._ Can't imagine how they'd react to my _brood._ ”

Barry raised a brow. “Don't sell yourself short, Merle. I think...I think you'd be a really good dad.”

Merle considered him and Barry wondered if he'd stepped a bit too far – the line was always hard to see, where Merle was concerned.

But, the moment passed, and Merle chuckled, clapping Barry on the shoulder. “You're a good guy, Bluejeans. Sorry Magnus kicked you, by the way.”

“Yeah. I'm...gonna have to deal with that.”

“Oh, he'll warm up. Kid really doesn't like those needles, huh?”

 

* * *

 

“Okay.” Taako opened the door and ushered Magnus and Lucretia inside. “ _This_ is your new room.”

They looked at one another and then ran, shrieking, to the beds, climbing up and starting to jump.

Taako sighed. “This is way more fun than I thought it would be,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. He looked at Barry. “Best year so far.”

“Yeah, it's not so bad--”

Magnus looked up at saw him and immediately stopped jumping. He pointed. “No needles.”

Barry lifted his hands. “Hey, look. All empty, kiddo. No needles.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Magnus grinned. “Okay,” he said, and went back to jumping on the bed.

Taako whistled. “Wow. And I thought I was gonna be the first one to traumatize them.”

“He's not _traumatized._ He's just...a kid. He's scared.” Barry scrubbed a hand over his face. “I can't go a whole year with him _running_ out of the room every time _I_ walk into it.”

“So bond with him. Have your heartwarming movie montage moment. Be the cinematic foster dad you want to _be_ , Barold.” Taako gave his arm a pat. “Also tone it done with the needles.”

“It was _twice!_ That's it!” Barry turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Taako cackling behind him.

 

* * *

 

Lup glanced over his bag of snacks and bottled water and raised a brow. “Are you going into the woods to find yourself, babe?”

“No. I thought I'd take Magnus on a little hike today.”

“He's three, Barry.”

“And he has a _lot_ of energy.”

She sighed. “That's true. Last night we thought letting them run in circles on the deck would tire them out, but an hour wasn't enough I guess.” She reached out and took his face in her hands. “Why are you so stressed about Magnus liking you? He's a kid. And in eleven months, he'll be back to his regular self.” She kissed him. “That big guy adores you.”

“Yeah, he does. But what if he remembers and he's upset and then we don't have what we did before--”

Lup put a finger against his lips. “You're worrying about things you don't even know about.”

“...Have you _met_ me?” he asked, and she giggled, learning forward and resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Magnus is...he's like the kid brother I never got to have. And now he's _actually_ a kid and I don't know. He told me once that...that things were hard for him, when he was growing up. Lucretia, too. What if this year we...we give Magnus and Lucretia a chance to be really happy kids?”

“Barry. That's so _sweet._ ”

He raised a brow. “You think?”

“Totally, babe. You take that kid on a hike. We'll have a nice big lunch waiting for you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” He grinned and pulled on his bag. “Oh shit.”

“What?”

Barry sighed. “I, uh. I gotta catch him first.”

 

* * *

 

“You like being outside?”

Magnus nodded. “Yep.”

“You like your snack?”

“Yep.”

Barry looked around. “You, uh, you want some water?”

“I wanted juice.”

“Ah, sorry, I left the juice at home.”

Magnus stopped and turned around, pointing towards the direction of the ship. “Can we go back?”

“No, Mags, we gotta get to the river.”

“But I want juice.”

“Listen, bud, we can't go back now and – _hey, don't run!_ ” Barry grabbed him, hefting him up and arching his body away as Magnus thrashed his legs, his feet nailing Barry in the chest. “Magnus, _stop!_ ”

“I wanna go _home!_ ”

“Alright! Alright, fine.” He put him down. “ _Fine._ Let's go home. Let's just go home and...and you can hate me and we'll just not hang out or do anything until this year is over.” Barry sat down on the ground.

Magnus stared.

“ _What?_ ”

“Why are you sad?”

Barry shook his head. “I'm not.”

“Yeah-huh.” Magnus reached out and touched his cheek, his fingers coming away wet. “Why are you sad?”

“Oh.” Barry wiped his cheek. “Um, yeah. I guess I am.”

Magnus tipped his head. “Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“ _Because_ , Magnus.”

“Because _why?_ ”

Barry sighed. “Because you don't like me. And it...it kind of hurts my feelings.”

Magnus frowned. “I like you.”

“No, you don't.”

“Yes I do.” He leaned in and kissed Barry's cheek. “See? I like you.” He tugged on Barry's hand. “Can we go get juice?”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, okay. We can go get juice.”

Magnus grinned, still holding Barry's hand. “I like juice.”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, me, too.”

When they got back to the ship, Lup was drawing with Lucretia in the kitchen. She looked up and frowned. “Hey, you guys okay?”

“Yep. We just had a juice emergency.” Barry went to the fridge and got out the jug, pouring Magnus a glass. “See? Juice.”

“Juice!”

Lucretia stood up on her chair and jumped down. “Me, too. I want juice, can I have juice?” Magnus handed her the glass and she took a long drink. “Thank you.”

Magnus grinned. “Welcome.” He turned back to Barry. “Can we go back?”

“You...want to go _back_?”

“Yes.”

Lup covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh.

Barry sighed. “Okay.”

“Up,” Magnus said, reaching for him.

“Up?” Magnus nodded. Barry sighed. “Alright.” He leaned down and hefted Magnus into his arms and sighed. “We'll be back.”

 

* * *

 

“Barry.”

“Hmm?”

“ _Barry._ ”

He rolled over and pressed his face against the crook of Lup's neck. “Wassit?”

“I think I hear the kids.”

Barry sat up and listened. “Yeah,” he said, and pushed off his blanket. “I'll go check.”

“I can go--”

“No.” He kissed her temple. “I'll go.” He pulled on a shirt and padded into the hall, knocking gently on the door to their room. “Guys?”

Lucretia pulled it open, her face barely sticking out. “Magnus had a nightmare.”

“Oh. Can I come in?”

She shrugged and turned to Magnus, then nodded. “He says it's okay.”

Barry sighed. “Great.” Lucretia pulled the door open and Barry stepped in. Magnus was sitting up on his bed, hiccuping from crying. “Hey, bud. You – _oof!_ ” He stumbled as Magnus launched himself at him, taking big, heaving breaths. “Hey, it's okay. I'm right here, alright? I'm right here with you.” Barry looked down and saw Lucretia rubbing little circles on Magnus's back. “Were you taking care of him?” She nodded. “That's sweet, Lu. You're a good big sister.”

Lucretia paused. “Is Magnus my brother?”

“Do you _want_ Magnus to be your brother?”

She considered this. “When me and Magnus are _big_ is he my brother?” Barry nodded. “Okay.”

Barry laughed. “That's sweet, huh Mags?”

“Can you stay?”

“Yeah, bud. I can stay. You wanna talk about your dream?”

Magnus shook his head. “No.”

“Do you...wanna draw a picture of it?”

Magnus considered this. But – “No.”

“You...wanna go back to sleep?” He nodded. “Okay.” Barry sighed and settled into the big bed they'd put together for them, leaning his back against the wall. They both climbed up and settled on either side of him.

Lucretia pulled the blanket up and over them. “Do you have nightmares?”

“Sometimes. But it's okay.” Barry pulled them close. “They're not real.”

Magnus looked up. “Promise?”

Barry nodded and kissed the top of his head. “Promise.”

 

* * *

 

When he crawled back into bed later, Lup snaked her arms around his waist and pulled him close. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, Magnus had a bad dream. He's alright now.”

Lup hummed. Then – “We should have kids someday.”

Barry blinked. “ _What?_ ”

Lup sat up. “You...don't want to?”

“No, I mean...I mean I guess I do, we just--” He sat up with her. “Is that something you want?”

“Totally. Babe, we would be the _sickest_ parents! And besides. Me and Taako...didn't have it so easy when we were growing up.”

“...Oh.”

“You knew that.”

“No, yeah, I just...was thinking about what I said the other day. About making this year great for...for the kids.”

Lup smiled. “You were totally right, we should. Besides, I am totally okay with not being a kid for a year,” she added. “ _Really._ ”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, I hear you.” He sighed. “I...would love to have a family with you.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “You'd be an amazing mother.”

Lup leaned into his touch. “And you'd be a pretty sweet dad.” She kissed his wrist. “I know we can't...right now. But we're gonna figure this stuff out, Barry. And when we do...I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Barry grinned and held her close. Sure, they were running from a plane-consuming horror, but every little moment they spent together brought Barry something he hadn't had before.

And that was good, as far as he was concerned.

That was really good.

 


	3. taako

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as a preschool teacher, bandaids were the _scourge_ of my existence. enjoy.

Taako leaned over and turned the music up on the little player they kept in the kitchen. The ship, for the first time in _weeks_ , was...quiet. It hit Taako, possibly too late, that a ship with any number of children on it should, under no circumstances, be _quiet._

He felt something move by his elbow, and when he looked, Lucretia was there, her chin resting on the counter.

“Hey, Lu.”

She looked at him. “What's that?”

“It's a spoon.”

“What's it for?”

“Stirring.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“So the food all tastes the same.”

She pointed. “What's _that?_ ”

“Those are spices.”

“What're they for?”

“They make the food taste better.”

She sighed. “ _Why?_ ”

“So it isn't boring. Do you like boring food?” Lucretia shook her head. “Me either.” He lowered the spoon down. “Here, you can taste. It's not hot,” he added, remembering the oatmeal fiasco from the week before. Lucretia considered him for a moment and then leaned in and licked the spoon clean. “Is it good?”

“Not boring,” she said, and ran out of the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

Taako was _never_ going to have kids. That was a fact pretty much set in stone. Anyone could ask – he wasn't interested.

But Lucretia as an adult was a talented and formidable caster, so, naturally...Taako was curious. He'd caught her casting a few spells here and there, trying them out. But it was like her brain knew what she _should_ know, and it was in direct competition with what a four year old could actually _do._

One afternoon she was most certainly trying to cast mage hand, so Taako sat down on the sitting room floor with her and said coolly. “Want some help?”

The little blue hand that was slowly taking shape fizzled out. She nodded.

“Okay. You gotta _really_ focus on what you want it to look like, yeah? Like, show me your hand.”

Lucretia held out her hand, and Taako focused on it for a moment before creating a bright purple replica of it. It floated up and gave her own hand a quick high five before dissipating. She giggled. “See? Not so hard.”

“I wanna do it by myself.”

“Sure thing, girly-girl. Go for it.”

Lucretia nodded and stretched out her hand again, focusing on it. The spell started up and sputtered out a few times, until, suddenly, a small blue hand appeared. Taako quickly cast it himself and gave her a thumbs up. She giggled. He made finger guns. By now she was reeling with laughter, but the hand stayed up, so Taako gave it another high five.

Lucretia rolled against his side and tucked her head under his arm. “That was fun,” she said, trying to stifle a yawn.

“Hey.” Taako dropped the spell and stood, bending down to pick her up. “I think someone needs a nap.”

Lucretia shook her head. “Not me.”

“Lu. Don't make me get the captain down here.”

Her eyes widened. “I'll be good.” Davenport was quickly becoming the naptime enforcer around this place. Magnus was completely wild in the afternoon, but one quick look from Dav and he'd quiet down, close his eyes, and be out like a light. And while one could be led to _believe_ that Lucretia would be the easier of the two to put down – she was quite the opposite.

But she seemed tuckered out from their lesson, and it was definitely an hour past her usual time. So Taako settled her on his hip, found Magnus and pulled him down the hall and into their room, and got them both into bed.

“ _I don't wanna_ \--”

“Magnus.”

Lucretia whispered loudly, “ _He's going to call the captain._ ”

Magnus closed his mouth mid-shout and flopped into bed. “ _Fine._ ”

Lucretia curled up next to him and pulled her blanket under her chin. Taako gave them both a little pat and turned to leave.

“Taako?” Lucretia sat up again and looked at him.

“What's up, kiddo?”

She grinned. “I love you,” she said, and settled back into bed.

Taako stood and stared for longer than he probably needed to but –

That one was definitely a first.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Lup?”

“'Sup bro?”

“Do you...do you think that I'd, um.” Taako cleared his throat. He wondered if he should cover his own ears so he didn't have to hear himself ask this _ridiculous_ question.

“Taako, what's up?”

He sighed and it call came tumbling out. “Do you think I'd be a good dad?” He stirred the pot of curry faster, trying to drown out the complete _nonsense_ he'd just subjected his poor, innocent sister to.

She put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Yeah, same, like, stupid question--” He stopped. “Wait. Did you--”

Lup smiled. “Taako, babe, of _course_ you'd be a good dad. I know that, like, being super into yourself is a little bit your aesthetic--”

“ _Our_ aesthetic.”

“Right.” She laughed. “But you are physically incapable of _not_ caring about people. I mean you cook for us, you're an amazing back-up in a fight.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You'd be an _awesome_ dad, Taako. Okay?”

He turned to her and smiled. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“No problem. Also _finish that_ so I can eat some. I'll go pull Barry out of the lab.” She turned and headed out of the kitchen, leaving Taako alone with his dinner.

 _Okay_ , he thought. _I could do that._

 

* * *

 

His room was right next to theirs, so he usually heard them wake up if something happened. Usually Lup took care of it, but there was a particular night when a thunderstorm whipped up around them, and Taako didn't think he'd have been able to hear them at all if Lucretia hadn't come banging on his door.

“Whoa, _whoa_ , kiddo. What's up?”

“Magnus is scared.”

“Okay, let's go check on him.” Taako felt her hand wrap around his fingers and pull him into their room.

Magnus was sitting up on his bed, hiccuping and crying. The second Taako walked in, he launched himself at him, sobbing into his t-shirt. “Hey, dude--”

“I don't like it, _I don't like it_ \--” The thunder clapped against outside. Magnus cried louder.

“ _Hey._ ” Taako knelt down and tentatively wrapped his arms around him. “Hey, Mags, it's okay.”

“I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't--”

“I know, _I know._ Me either, it stinks. I hate those loud noises.” He sighed. “You guys wanna crash in my room?”

Magnus leaned back and nodded. “Yes, please.”

Taako smiled. “Okay.” He stood and took both their hands. “Just tonight, though, alright? Let's not make this a habit.” He took them back to his room and pulled the blankets back. As soon as he laid down, they curled up next to him and under the blanket. Taako sighed. “Better?” Magnus nodded. Lucretia sat up. “What's happenin', Lu?”

“Elves don't _need_ to sleep.”

“Yes, this is true. But you don't _need_ to eat seven cookies after dinner.”

“I wanted to.”

“And _I_ want to _sleep._ Fair enough?”

She shrugged and laid back down. “Okay.”

Taako sighed. “Alright. Night, little demons.”

Magnus yawned. “Night, big demon.”

“ _Hey_.”

Lucretia put a finger to her lips. “ _Shh._ We're sleeping.”

 

* * *

 

“Taako?”

“Lucretia, hon, I'm chopping.”

“I need bandaids.”

Taako dropped the knife and turned to her, frowning. “ _Why?_ ”

“Magnus fell, he needs a bandaid.”

“Wait, is he okay? Where did he--”

Lucretia sighed. “He just needs bandaids.”

“...Okay.” He opened a few drawers before finding an unopened box. “How many?”

“I'll just take that.”

“Uh, I don't think so. One should be good--”

“Box, please.”

“ _Lucretia_ \--”

“ _Taako_.” She held out her hand expectantly. Taako raised a brow. “Please,” she added.

He sighed. “You know what? Go nuts, chickadee. Seriously. I cannot _wait_ to see what happens. You be sure to bring Magnus in here so I can check on that scrape, okay?”

“Okay.” She took the box and ran out of the kitchen.

Taako timed it – it took fifteen minutes for someone to find them, and he was so _happy_ it was Davenport.

“ _What happened to him?_ ”

Taako went into the sitting room and leaned against the wall.

Lucretia looked up. “Magnus got a scratch.”

“ _How many?_ ”

“Just one.”

Magnus grinned. “I'm a mummy!” he said, sticking out his arm which was covered in approximately twelve bandaids. The rest of his limbs fared no better.

Davenport sputtered. “What—how— _why_ \--”

Lucretia pointed. “Taako gave them to me.”

“ _You gave her the whole box?_ ”

“It seemed like a bandaid emergency,” he said, shrugging. “Nice work, Lu. Lookin' good, Mags.”

“I'm a mummy!” he shouted again, and rolled onto his back, kicking his legs up in the air and howling like a wolf.

“That's a werewolf,” Lucretia said.

“So?”

She sighed. “Okay, you pretend to be a mummy, and I'll pretend to be a witch.”

“And then I'll be a dinosaur.”

Lucretia rolled her eyes. “ _No._ There aren't any dinosaurs here.”

“We saw dinosaurs before.”

“That was a different year.”

Taako grinned and left them to their squabble as Davenport tried, in vain, to wrestle some of the bandaids off Magnus's knees and give a lecture on resource management.

 

* * *

 

There were days when Taako wanted to pick them both up, set them outside, and lock the ship up behind them. Lucretia's favorite game to play was a rousing session of “What's that?” while pointing at things she clearly understood the purpose of. Magnus liked to follow it up with a fun round of “Why?” in the afternoon, which made Taako's time in the kitchen a waking nightmare of fielding the same question _over and over_.

Lup would rescue him, setting Lucretia up a the table with a hefty box of pencils and crayons Barry had made for her, next to a stack of papers. They practiced her letters while Magnus made furious scribbles across a dozen pages.

When Magnus's energy level was edging closer and closer to completely unmanageable levels, Merle or Barry would take him outside and let him run around until he collapsed in the dirt, grinning madly.

And, at night, when things were finally quiet, and everyone had settled, Taako would pick them up and carry them to bed.

Lucretia rolled over one night and smiled. “Can you tell a story?”

“Oh sure, sure.” He knelt down by the side of the bed and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. “You want to hear the one about vampires again?”

“Yes!” Magnus said.

“No.” Lucretia put a hand over his mouth. “A different one.”

“Okay.” Taako considered the task. “Well,” he said. “Once upon a time...” And he trailed off, weaving as careful a tale as he could, watching their eyes grow heavier and heavier. Every day they seemed to get a little further away from being the people Taako had gotten onto this ship with, but if he looked very closely, he could still see his friend Magnus, and his friend Lucretia, hiding behind wide, curious eyes.

He missed them, sometimes. But he knew when this year was over...he'd miss this, too.

Taako didn't remember much of this age. Elves aged so different, the years Taako spent as a child were sometimes a blur. And he and Lup spent so much of it alone, so much of it just trying to survive, he didn't know if the years he spent this small really counted as childhood.

But it was nice, he thought, to do this for someone else. To take a year that maybe wasn't their best, and turn it into something grand. He leaned forward and kissed their foreheads, pulling the blankets up a little further before turning out the light and closing the door.

It was nice, Taako thought, to give someone something he'd never really had.

And he hoped, someday, he'd get another chance. But that was a secret just for him.

 


	4. davenport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but we're coming up on the end here.

As fond as Davenport was of Magnus and Lucretia, no matter their size, he knew they were beginning to fall back on their objective.

“We've only been out looking twice in almost five months. We need to find the light.”

Merle sighed. “Look, taking care of the kids has been a huge priority, we just haven't--”

Davenport raised a hand. “I'm not saying it hasn't been. I know what it would be like for this crew if something happened to Magnus and Lucretia. Really, I do. But we have to start thinking about the end of the year.”

“Barry's been tryin'.”

“I know. But just Barry isn't enough.” Davenport leaned against the kitchen counter. “I think you and Taako would be a good pair for this trip. There's a lot of wilderness out there, you're good at tracking, and Taako's solid backup in a fight. If you want, take Lup, too.”

“No, Lup needs to be here. Lucretia doesn't do so hot without her--”

“Lucretia is _not_ going to be four forever. She'll get over it.”

Merle sighed. “Alright. Me and the wonder twins will get out there and bring it back. But you and Barry better be prepared to deal with the fallout.”

Davenport huffed. “Please. Like Barry and I can't handle Magnus and Lucretia.”

 

* * *

 

Davenport was very quickly concerned that he and Barry could not handle Magnus and Lucretia. He had not _realized_ the level of attachment Lucretia had to Lup, and probably could not have predicted how quickly Magnus would realize half their crew was gone. While Lucretia tried to make a run for it, Magnus completely shut down, and refused to speak.

Barry scrubbed a hand over his face. “Alright, I'll take care of him, you go after her.”

Davenport nodded. “Right.” He took off after Lucretia, who was making quick work of dispelling the charms Lup had cast over it after she'd left to stop her from following. On one hand, it was impressive – it was certainly not the fluid counterspell techniques that Lucretia typically displayed, but considering she'd regressed to a point where her letters were now giving her trouble, her quick dismantling of Lup's protections was enough to give Davenport pause.

Watching Lucretia do magic was always a treat.

But she was dangerously close to escaping, so he cast a quick vine and gently pulled her back – kicking and screaming.

“Lucretia.” She thrashed in his arms, pleading to be let out. Davenport sighed. “ _Lucretia!_ ” She looked at him, eyes wide and her face panic-stricken. “That's enough of that,” he said, and began pulling her back into the sitting room.

“I wanna _go_ \--”

“You can't. It's too dangerous.”

“I wanna _help_. I can find the light, too--”

“Absolutely not.” Davenport hefted her up, with some difficulty, and put her on the sofa. “This is a job for...for grownups.”

“I _am_ a grownup.”

“Not right _now_ you aren't.”

She pointed. “Big 'Cretia could find the light.”

“Well big Lucretia isn't here right now. You're little Lucretia, and little Lucretia has to stay on the ship and look after Magnus.”

“Big Magnus could find the light, too,” she pointed out.

“Again. Big Magnus isn't _here._ You're little, and I know it's driving you crazy, I know you want things to go back to the way they were. I know this is _confusing_ for you, your brain's all scrambled and you don't know what you can and can't do--” Davenport sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “When this year is over, everything will go back to the way it was, Lucretia. I promise.”

She looked at him, and Davenport swore – for a second, she was twenty-two again, watching him make excuses about Merle, about his insecurities, about –

Barry tapped him on the shoulder. “Um, where's Magnus?”

“He's sitting right--” Davenport looked at where Magnus had been before – and he was gone. “ _Shit._ ”

Lucretia sighed. “Shit,” she said.

“No! No, you don't say that. You wait until you're _big_ to say that.” He grabbed her shoulders. “Where's your brother?”

“I don't know.”

“Don't you _I don't know_ me, young lady.”

She sighed and hopped off the couch, pulling on his hand and leading him toward the back of the ship, toward her old room. She fiddled with the handle and pushed the door open –

The room was illuminated in the blue light of Fischer's tank. Davenport had nearly forgotten that Lup had closed it off, worried the creature might upset them, or worse, that they might feed something important to it. (Magnus had been caught with the _Starblaster_ repair manual more than once.) But Magnus wasn't feeding anything to the voidfish at all. He was leaning against the tank, thumb in his mouth, and Fischer had one long arm reaching over the edge to pat his head.

He was falling asleep.

Davenport looked at Lucretia. “You...remember Fischer?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, still holding his hand. “We forgot the little things. But Fischer is a big thing.” She looked up at him. “Magnus loves Fischer. Fischer loves Magnus.” Davenport pulled her close. “We didn't forget those things.”

 

* * *

 

When Merle and the twins cameback with the light, they had to celebrate. Lucretia was so happy to see Lup she attached herself to her and didn't let go until exhaustion finally overtook her five hours later. Merle and Davenport were sitting on the sofa together, a sleeping Magnus settled between them, as the room emptied out and they were left alone.

Merle reached over and brushed his fingers against the back of Davenport's neck and smiles. “Everything was okay?”

“Everything was okay.”

“Well, I'll bet, with the nap enforcer around.”

Davenport chuckled. “Yeah, that was thankfully not the hard part.” He glanced over. “We missed you.”

“Oh--”

“We did. You don't know what you do for this ship, Merle. You don't know how good you are with them, even when they're not like this. Magnus and Lucretia...they admire you.”

“That's not—”

Davenport sighed. “Take the damn compliment, Merle. Okay? You're _warm_ , even if you want to pretend you aren't.”

Merle's cheek flushed, and he drained his wine glass. “Right. We should, um. We should get this kid to bed.”

“Merle--”

“Hey, we'll talk about this later.” He stood and gave Davenport a quick kiss. “I'll take him, you head on up.”

Davenport sighed and nodded, watching Merle take Magnus out of the room and toward his own. He made his way up the little stairs that led to his quarters and got ready for bed. He was pulling a shirt over his head to sleep in when he felt Merle's hands skate over his hips as he passed by to change.

“Merle.”

“Look, when you say those things, it...it just--”

Davenport turned and reached for him, pulling him in. “I would never lie to you about _you._ Or about the way I feel when you're around.” He kissed him. “If I tell you you're good with the kids, I _mean_ it. If I tell you that you're the warmth we need on this ship, then it's the damn _truth._ If I tell you--” Merle cut him off with a kiss, his hands coming up and holding him close. It was suffocating in the most beautiful way, and when they drew back, gasping, Davenport wanted to go back under.

“Okay,” Merle said. “I believe you.”

“I, uh. I gathered.”

Merle chuckled. “You like that one?”

“Ah, yes. Yes I did.”

“Well.” Merle raised a brow. “How 'bout you and me test this _warmth_ _theory_ you're so keen on for a bit, huh?”

“You are the _worst_ holy man I've ever met.”

Merle gave him a push toward the bed. “Good. That's not what I've been aimin' to be best at.”

 

* * *

 

One night Magnus looked up at him in a way that sort of floored him, and Davenport waited to listen. “Dav?”

“Yeah, kiddo. What's up?”

“Is the Hunger gonna come sooner?”

Davenport choked on what to say. They'd never talked about the Hunger around the kids, they'd made Merle _swear_ not to parley, because explaining that would just be _hell_. But Magnus was looking at him expectantly, and Lucretia was sitting up now, watching.

“How...do you know?”

“We listened.”

“Right, gotcha. You've got good ears.”

Magnus nodded. “I listen good.”

Davenport sighed. “Well. Yes, it might.” He didn't see a point in lying. “But we found the light, so we're safe.”

“But what if we're not.”

“Well...there's always that risk, isn't there? You do things and they might not be safe.” He brushed the hair from Magnus's forehead. “Big Magnus understood that.”

Magnus pulled his blankets up further. “Big Magnus is afraid of the Hunger.”

Davenport frowned. “...Is he?”

“Yes. It's big and scary and it eats things—”

Lucretia covered her ears with her hands. “ _Magnus, stop it!_ ”

“But that's what it does!” He sat up. “And it has a bunch of eyes and it takes everything and it's so scary--”

“ _Stop it, stop it, stop it!_ ”

“You're scared, too, everyone is scared--”

“ _Stop it, stop it, stop it--_ ”

“ _Enough!_ ” Davenport bellowed. “That is _enough_ , out of _both_ of you.” He straightened up. “You're _scaring_ her, Magnus. And you're scaring yourself.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I'm sorry you heard us talking about the Hunger. We didn't mean for that to happen.”

Magnus looked at Lucretia. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly, sniffing. She nodded and went to him, and they held one another for a long time. Davenport gave them a gentle nudge and covered them with the blanket it. “I'm sorry,” Magnus said again.

Davenport sighed. “Don't think on it anymore, okay? Think...think about nice things.”

And he sat with them for a while, until their breathing settled and they were asleep. He smiled. “I'm a little jealous, you know. It'd be nice to be able not to think about...all this. For a year.” He reached out and smoothed the hair from Lucretia's face. “I hope you remember this, when it ends. I hope you remember the year you got to just...be kids. And be free of all this.” He stood, leaned down to press a quick kiss to both their cheeks, and turned to go.

“I hope when you think back on all of this, someday, that this was your favorite year.” He turned out the light. "I really hope so.”

 


End file.
